An Important Question
by georgiabelle
Summary: A scene I would have liked to have seen following the arrival of Baby Bates. Just some fluff, but hopefully fun.


John bundled himself up, wrapping his scarf extra tight around his neck. As much as he hated to venture out into the cold, he had an important errand to attend to. He hated leaving Anna and their newborn son alone in the cottage – but between the dotings of Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Pattmore and Daisy, he thought Anna and their 3 day old son would be in good hands for a few hours while he was away. John had graciously be granted a full week off by his Lordship – which may have been aided by the champagne the Earl been indulging in on the night of the baby's birth – but none the less, it was a very generous offer and he was making the most of it. He and Anna had brought their son home to their cottage, and spent the first days and nights anxiously attending to his every need. As he walked up the path towards the main house, he smiled to himself, thinking of his first attempt at a nappy change, and the disaster it had turned into. He's hoped to take care of the deed and let Anna get some rest, but she somehow sensed his helplessness and swooped in to help him. Anna was a natural mother and seemed to know exactly what to do, and he loved watching her with their son. John seemed to be much better at the rocking and soothing the little one than bathing and nappy changing, but he was eager to learn and to be of assistance to his wife. He knew what a blessing this baby was to both of him, and he didn't want to miss out on anything.

He slipped into the house relatively unnoticed, and hung his coat and hat in the servants hallway. He was a bit nervous, but the errand he was on was an important one, so he took a few deep breaths as he climbed the stairs. He slowly entered the library where, as expected, he found Lord Grantham at his desk attending to business.

"Good Morning, my lord. I hope I am not interrupting."

"Bates, my good man! How good to see you! I wasn't expecting you back for a few days. Is everything all right with Anna and the baby?" he inquired

"Yes, my lord, they are fine. Wonderful, in fact. Anna and the baby are settled in at the cottage and doing tremendously." He said with a slight smile. He couldn't help it, thinking of his wife and son at home."

"I was actually wondering if I might have a word with you, m'lord?" Bates asked, a bit nervous.

"Of course, Bates. Please, come in." Lord Grantham stood and moved over to the settee by the fire, motioning for Bates to come in. "I do hope you haven't come for advice with a newborn, I'm afraid I can't offer you much help there. But anything I can do to help. Have you decided what to call the little one?" he asked.

Bates moved closer into the library and gripped the back of the couch, facing his employer. He took a steadying deep breath and spoke – "That's actually what I wanted to speak with you about, m'lord – the name Anna and I have chosen for our son." He looked down as he spoke, but then looked up at Lord Grantham for a response. This was very important to John, but also a bit awkard.

Lord Grantham had a puzzled smile on his face and asked "I'm not sure why you'd need my approval of what you call him" he said with a nervous chuckle. "But how else I might be of service to your young man?"

Bates smiled, shifted a bit, then started "Well, m'lord, Anna and I agreed a while ago, that if we were to be blessed with a son - we would like to name him Robert, in honor of you, m'lord."

Lord Gratham straight up and looked directly at his valet, in shock and puzzlement. Bates continued "We wanted to name our son after someone who has done so much for us and to whom we owe so much."

Lord Grantham started to speak, but stopped, genuinely not sure what to say. He stared intently into the roaring fire. Bates could sense his employer's unease, but was unsure how to read it. With all they had been through together over the years, this was new territory for them, and not especially comfortable for either of them. Bates had practiced what he would say, to explain to his reasoning and ask for the Earl's blessing, but was also afraid of being too forward or presumptuous. He was truly thankful to all of the opportunities Robert had afforded to him over the years, and wanted to name his son after the man who had shown such support and loyalty to his parents. But Bates was still a servant, and did not want to be taken as crossing the line between employer and servant. He fumbled for the right words to break through the silence – "Anna and I both owe so much to you, m'lord. Not just our employment, sir, but your continued support through all of our many troubles. Another employer would have sent either of us packing at the first sign of trouble or disgrace upon his house. But you have stood by us, and supported us in so many ways, m'lord, we could never hope of repaying you."

Lord Gratham listened, motionless, as he continued to stare into the fire. He didn't look up at Bates, which made the valet nervous. Finally, after what felt like forever, Lord Gratham slowly turned to Bates and asked "Bates, are you sure? You have more than earned my loyalty, dear man, you do not have to do anything to repay me. You and Anna have been invaluable members of this household and aid to this family for years, and…" he stopped midsentence, not wanting to ramble on but also stifling the emotion he felt coming through in his voice.

"Yes, I am sure, m'lord. We both are." John took a deep breath "M'Lord, if you hadn't taken a chance on an old, wounded, Army comrade all those years ago, I would have never come to Downton, and never met Anna. I would have ended up in the workhouse, or worse. I would not have had the opportunity to build the life I have now - a good job in a grand house, a home, a wife, and now a son." Now it was Bates who was trying to hide emotion in his voice.

They both paused for a few moments, in silence, to give themselves some time to process their thoughts. This was heavy territory for the two men, despite all their years together.

Bates finally continued "If our choice of name is too presumptuous, m'lord, then of course, we will choose otherwise. Anna is fairly insistent that he have my name as well." Bates trailed off with a slight chuckle, then looked directly at Lord Gratham. "But with your blessing, my lord, Anna and I would like to christen our son as Robert John Bates."

With his Lordship's continued silence, Bates feared that he'd overstepped the bounds. Perhaps he'd assumed too much of their relationship in choosing to name his son after the Earl, but it was truly what felt right to him, and hoped his lordship would see it that way as well.

Finally, Robert stood and looked straight at Bates, and John nervously tried to read his expression. Bates was still unsure of what might follow, and finally Robert spoke – "Bates, I am honestly without words."

John trepidatiously asked – "Does that mean we have your blessing, m'lord? We certainly don't want to overstep our position or…"

Robert interrupted, this time with more clear emotion - "Of course you have my blessing, my dear man!" He broke into a smile, then paused for a moment and continued said with sincerity "Bates, I truly cannot think of a higher honor, and it is one I do not deserve. I must say, I am truly touched." As a wide smile came across his face and he attempted to blink back the tear in his eye. Robert was truly moved – had he and Cora had a son, it was the name he would have certainly been given. But to have someone Robert respected as much as Bates choose to honor his own son with his name, Robert was affected.

John let out a sigh, and a genuine smile spread across his face. He was relieved. "Thank you m'lord. The honor is truly ours. I appreciate your understanding. And now we know what to call him properly, other than 'little man." he said with a chuckle. Smiling was not something that John did often outside of the cottage, but found it came naturally when speaking of his wife and son.

With that, both men chuckled. There was so much unspoken between the two, but somehow it was understood. They had been through so much over the years, and despite the barrier that stood between them, there was a strong sense of mutual respect.

"Thank you, m'lord. Anna will be quite relieved to have that settled. I should have approached you about it before his arrival, but we wanted to avoid any disappointment if he had been a girl and we'd have to choose another name." John continued. "Not that a girl would be any disappointment at all, of course, but we thought it better to wait until we knew which name we needed."

"Well, good then. I must say I am surprised, but I am truly honored by the choice. I don't think I could be happier than if the request came from the King himself!" Robert boasted, and he meant it. He reached out to shake Bates's hand. "May I ask what name you had selected for a girl?" He asked with an inquisitive smile.

"I believe we settled on Elizabeth Mary for a girl – we'd have called her Elsie for short, after Mrs. Hughes. She's been such a mother figure to Anna all these years, and such a help for both of us. She's quite relishing in her adoptive grandmother role, she's been doting on him and checking in every chance she has!" John chuckled, then continued. "And Mary for Lady Mary, of course. Anna is so thankful for all of her friendship and support over the years."

Robert gave a big smile, and chuckled "Well, I won't tell Mary, as her head would certainly swell and we don't need that. And I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, in case you ever have need of a girl's name in the future, dear man. You never know…"

John smiled, and paused. He certainly hoped more children might be in their future, though that thought seemed far off at the moment. He was still feeling so blessed and overwhelmed by the gift of their son, a gift he never thought he'd have "We shall see how we do with just the one, my Lord - he's proving quite the adventure already." But the thought of a daughter – or another son – did sound quite good to the valet.

Robert chuckled. "Well then Bates - when he and Anna are ready, please bring him up to the house, so that I may greet my namesake properly. I'm sure the ladies would love to see him as well, but I have much wisdom I will need to impart on the boy." Robert beamed.

"I will do that, m'lord." John replied "And I do appreciate the gracious time off. I will return to my duties in a few days, unless your lordship needs me sooner. I imagine once Anna gets a little more sleep and this cold snap wears off, she will have young Robert up here to introduce to everyone properly."

"No, Bates, you go home and enjoy your new addition. I'm afraid I didn't spend much time with my daughters when they were young, but I must admit I do greatly enjoy my grandchildren. They wear me out, but they are a joy."

Just then, Carson entered the room, as was surprised to see Mr. Bates there. He was taken aback by the smiles on the two mens' faces, and wondered what on earth they could be discussing so jovially. Carson stiffened – "Pardon the interruption, m'lord, but there is a telephone call for you, something about the plumbing at the London house."

"Argh, yes, please excuse me Bates, but this is unfortunately some business I must attend to. Please give Anna and young Robert my best, and we will see you back in a few days, and not before." Robert shook Bates' hand again and hurried off to the telephone.

"Thank you, m'lord, I will. Good day."

After Lord Grantham had left, Carson turned to the valet with a inquisitive look on his face. "May I ask what that was all about, Mr. Bates? And who is this _young Robert_?" The relaxed manner in which he had found the two truly had the butler confused.

John smiled and turned to the older man, saying "Mr. Carson, I am proud to say that young Robert is my son."


End file.
